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Two arrested for drug possession, sale

A Minneapolis man and woman face charges in Carlton County Court after being arrested last Wednesday in possession of 12 grams of crack cocaine and 12 grams of heroin.

Darnel Warren, 45, and Christine Marie Strand, 24, were each charged Monday in Carlton County Court with two felony counts of a second-degree controlled substance crime and one felony count of third-degree sale of a controlled substance.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the incident, at approximately 6 p.m. on Dec. 18, Cloquet police officers and detectives, along with troopers from the Minnesota State Patrol, combined forces to conduct a controlled substance investigation of Warren and Strand.

The complaint stated officers utilized a confidential, reliable informant to attempt the purchase of one gram of heroin from Strand and Warren at a Cloquet fast food restaurant. Officers monitored the transaction as Strand and Warren sold one gram of heroin to the informant for $250.

In subsequent questioning, Strand admitted to officers that she and Warren traveled from the Twin Cities area for the purpose of selling heroin in Cloquet. She also gave officers 12 grams of cocaine that she had in possession at the time and told them she had an additional 12 grams of heroin in the local motel room she had rented. Strand gave officers permission to obtain the additional heroin from the room.

After the substances tested positive as heroin and cocaine, they were sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for evidentiary testing and weighing.

Judge Dale Wolf set bail on Warren at $70,000 bond or $7,000 cash. Bail on Strand was set at $50,000 bond or $5,000 cash. Due to another pending case against her, however, in which bond was set at $15,000 bond or $1,500 cash, the total bail amount is now $65,000 bond or $6,500 cash. Both remained in custody at the time this issue of the Pine Journal went to press.

A criminal records search shows that Warren has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1997 in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, including shoplifting, domestic assault, drug possession, controlled substance crimes, loitering with narcotics and fleeing police.

Strand’s record shows primarily petty misdemeanor traffic and consumption charges, though she was convicted of a petty misdemeanor charge of possession/sale of a small amount of marijuana in Carlton County Court on June 13, 2013.

Warren is now slated for an initial appearance/Rule 8 hearing at 9 a.m. on Dec. 30. Strand is set for an omnibus hearing at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6.